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Visual Analysis

In Vermont, many town plans call for the protection of scenic resources and rural character. There is typically little definition, however, of the specific resources or the landscape elements that create the community’s unique character or sense of place. A visual analysis is a method for assessing, documenting and increasing the understanding of the landscape elements that create scenic views or rural character.

Municipalities are typically interested in visual character as seen from public vantage points such as road corridors, parks, or other public facilities. The lands that can be seen from a significant community feature such as a historic site or a scenic overlook may also be included in a visual analysis.

The first step of conducting a visual analysis begins with collecting data about the different elements within the study area. Data may include readily available GIS maps of features such as wetlands, topography, conserved lands, historic structures, land cover and road networks. A windshield survey, walking tour and/or photographs can also be used to document other important parts of the landscape including scenic vistas, historic structures, stonewalls, hedgerows, and the character of a road corridor.

Detailed methodologies for conducting a visual analysis are presented in two publications, The Roadscape Guide and Vermont’s Scenic Landscapes. Explore the resources below for more information about conducting a visual analysis and incorporating protection of scenic resources into local plans, regulations and development review processes.

 

Resources

Project Documents Downloads & Links
Visual Analysis chapter from the Northwest Project final report. (772 kb)

The Northwest Project Visual Analysis PowerPoint presentation. (2.6 mb PowerPoint / 4.0 mb PDF) or

Champlain Valley Greenbelt Alliance

(www.cvga.org)

  • Route 7 Corridor Visual Analysis for southern Chittenden County. (532 kb)
  • Route 7 Corridor Visual Analysis for northern Addison County. (468 kb)
  • Written report describing methodology and findings for the Addison County portion of the visual analysis. (136 kb)

Addison County Regional Planning Commission

(www.acrpc.org)

  • Route 116 road corridor visual analysis from Bristol to Starksboro. (9.3 mb)
  • Bristol-Monkton road corridor visual analysis. (9.0 mb)
Sample Inventories and Plan Elements Downloads & Links
Scenic Resource Inventory. Bennington, VT. (5.1 mb)
Bennington, VT scenic resources element from town plan. (116 kb)
Draft Open Space Plan: Views and Vistas. Montpelier, VT. (3.2 mb)
Essex, VT scenic resources element from town plan. (436 kb)
Other Resources Downloads & Links

Vermont Forum on Sprawl

(www.vtsprawl.org)

  • The View from the Road: Patterns Principles & Guidelines for Roadscape Design - This short manual provides tips and techniques that landowners and local officials can use to preserve the scenic qualities of their road corridor landscapes. (4.1 mb)
or
  • The Roadscape Guide: Tools to Preserve Scenic Road Corridors - This illustrated guide explains how to (1) define a study area, (2) conduct a visual analysis, and (3) understand the landscape and learn its history. It also explains conservation basics, explains regulatory tools from planning and zoning, with site plan and design elements and other regulatory tools, and suggests tools to preserve scenic resources.

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Planning Division

(www.anr.state.vt.us)

  • Vermont’s Scenic Landscapes: A Guide for Growth and Protection - This guide illustrates the concepts included in the scenic evaluation process used in Act 250 proceeding under Criterion 8 (aesthetics), which analyzes the scenic quality of a project’s setting and surrounding landscape and then evaluates the visual impacts of the project on its scenic context.
  

Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs

(www.dhca.state.vt.us)

  • Vermont’s Interstate Exchange: Planning and Development Design Guidelines - This publication includes a land use inventory, photographic catalog and scenic analysis of each of the state’s 52 interchange areas, which it categorizes into six types based on existing conditions and development conditions. It also contains design guidelines tailored to each of the six interchange types. (1.7 mb)
or